Saving Astro
by muggleborn.dragon.ryder
Summary: 'No one had heard from Astro or seen him for almost four weeks. And panic was starting to grip Metro City…' Astro wants somebody to save him, but how do you save a hero?
1. Just a Machine

**A/N: Warning: Astro Boy has angst with:**

**1. His father**

**2. Cora**

**3. Just about everyone else. Angst with the others, angst with random peers at school, he has angst with his robot thing, he practically has angst with the *chalkboard*! LOL. **

* * *

Machines can't feel, right? And robots are technically machines, too, right? So why am I feeling so trapped?

I'm desperate. Really.

It isn't easy to be a robot in my city. As a matter of fact, I'm the only robot Metro City really trusts.

But they don't really believe that I'm capable of feeling.

They just think I'm a mindless robot who knows absolutely nothing. And I CAN'T feel…correct?

Wrong. Robots can feel.

I know this because I feel trapped. Why? I don't know.

Metro City, the people of it, are good to me. They don't think of me as a servant or anything. But they do see me as emotionless.

And I know I'm not emotionless because I'm also very hopelessly in love.

Her name is Cora, and boy is she something else.

She accepted me, before she knew I was a robot. (Of course.)

But then Hamegg ended up tazing me and revealing it, of course.

Anyway, point is, I feel a little…stuck. People call on me, and when there's an emergency I feel that's all I'm good for.

I know my father and I have been trying to heal our broken relationship, but sometimes, I will look at him and think of when he gave me up. Kicked me out. Told me I wasn't loved…wanted… Maybe it's selfish to think like that. But I can't help it. I'm scared it's going to happen again.

Besides my father and the desperation threatening to take me down, I'm more or less ok.

At least that's what I tell people and they kinda buy it.

Cora does, too.

So does her gang of misfits, homeless kids, and all that jazz: Widget, Sludge, and Zane.

They're misfits, but in a group they do fit in really well together. Weird, but true. I don't really fit in with them. I mean, I'm a robot, I fit in nowhere.

Just a robot, and only a robot. Maybe I'm tired of being a robot.

Maybe, heck, maybe I'm tired of being the hero all the time. It's not that I get embarrassed when attention is fixed on me, even though it is a little embarrassing.

It's just that sometimes I'm tired of being the star of the show.

I sound pretty whiny, huh?

But, maybe for once I want to be an extra, just another ordinary normal member of the audience.

It's not that I'm tired of the spotlight. But if I'm supposed to be the hero, who's going to save me?

* * *

**A/N: Warning, I didn't get to see the full ending of the movie, I only got to see to the part where ZOG gives him more blue core. **

**But I read the end on Wikipedia, so I'm pretty sure I know how it ends. But just in case I missed anything or anything I might've said doesn't match up with what happened in the end, just know that. Also, Astro gets seriously really depressed in this story and later on there might be hard-core torture. **

**Also, angst! **

**Disclaimer I DON'T own Astro Boy movie. Or animated series.**


	2. 4:15 in the Morning

Okay. Breathe. Pant. Breathe. Gasp. Breathe. Wipe sweat off.

I'm not battling President Stone. It's okay.

It was just a weird dream. I promised myself.

I lay back down, but I couldn't get back to sleep.

Checking my watch, I saw it was four-fifteen.

I glanced out at the navy sky, a million glittering points of light, showing stars. I wished I could talk to Cora.

I remember our talk beneath the stars, revealing secrets, me and her. I had come so close that day to telling her I was a robot.

I unlatched the window and teetered on the edge of the sill, considering the merits of going for a night fly.

It would be epic this late at night, the wind on my face, the clock ticking down the seconds until sunrise, the night stars inches from my face.

It was another clear night.

Would Cora and the others live in Metro City if it went back into the night sky?

Surely they would. At least Cora would.

She had family up here, and I wasn't sure about Zane Widget or Sludge but surely they'd go with Cora wherever she went.

I shot off into the sky, and as I did I became lost in thought and cloud cover.

But it wasn't like I needed a whole lot of focus for flight.

It just came naturally to me.

I flew farther than I ever did before and I began thinking of the fight with the peacekeeper. That was a bad battle. The only way I'd managed to survive at all was because I'm a robot.

Just a machine.

I began falling quickly, trying to brace myself for the awful impact.

Then it occurred to me, my rocket shoes.

I attempted to turn them on, but…

SCRAPE.

I scraped the pavement and stood back up, noticing the gravel had cut through the layer of skin and revealed several copper strings.

I started my rocket boots up again, and THIS TIME they worked.

"Where were you guys when I really needed you, like, two seconds ago?" I demanded of them.

I was officially going crazy, I decided.

I was talking to rocket shoes.

* * *

By the time I got back, the sun was rising, so I didn't see the point of getting back in bed.

I just got a glass of water and took a quick gulp to calm myself, then thought about flying to school.

Dad came in a few minutes later and looked surprised when he saw me. "Toby! You're not normally up this early."

I shrugged sheepishly. I didn't feel like talking about my embarrassing sidewalk mishap.

As I was shouldering my backpack, it scraped at the newly torn wires under my fake layer of skin.

I ignored it and was about to go out the window when Dad spotted them. "Toby, what's wrong with your wrist?"

"Oh, that?" I looked down at my arm. "It's nothing."

"What happened?"

I shifted my weight and hitched my backpack higher on my shoulder. "It's, uh, kind of a long story, Dad."

"We've both got time."

He clearly thought I'd done something to hurt myself, which I kind of had. Totally not my fault, though, right?

I hesitated, then reluctantly told him about how I scraped the pavement at four o' clock in the morning. "See? It's nothing."

"No," Dad persisted. "On the contrary, Toby, that WAS something. How…why…?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention to my flight."

So, yes, I did lie.

Big whoop, right?

But I knew I didn't need concentration on my flying. I just didn't want Dad puzzling it out. Sometimes, I feel a little like a lab rat. The first robot that can feel, the first human robot, the first invention EVER like me.

So naturally Dad was curious about me since I no longer replace his son.

I swallowed. I still wished I could BE his son for him, but I now know that it's impossible.

"But you shouldn't have fallen," Dad murmured.

I knew this. I really shouldn't have. REALLY. Shouldn't have.

I swallowed and said, "Well, I have to get to school. See you later, Dad, bye!" I threw myself out the first-story window and spread my arms out wide, like a bird. I made a mental note to visit Cora later today.

I'd seen her and the rest of the misfits a few days ago, and they'd all been nice to me, of which I hadn't expected.

Shouldn't they be furious with me? Either way, I decided, it was a good thing, a wonderful thing in fact and I wanted to see her today.

As I flew, I told myself shakily, "Now take it slow. You won't help anyone by crashlanding again, you know that."

I managed to make it to school, but my rocket shoes were definitely having issues.

I was soaring in little stops and starts and twice I'd very nearly hit the ground.

I went to the school building and found it deserted. Feeling like a nerd for being at the school so early, I pulled out a notebook and began sketching.

Not really drawing, more like absently doodling on a page over and over again.

I hadn't even realized the things I was drawing before I was finished: a knife dripping blood into a crimson pool below it, a tornado picking up a house or two in its swirling vortex and a broken robot.

I choked something that sounded like, "Wow" at my doodling. I ripped out the page and walked up to the teacher's desk to throw my sketches away when a girl entered the room. She had curly brown hair and was loudly smacking gum, and a girl with bright red, straight hair came in behind her.

The brown-haired girl shrieked. "OH MY GOD!"

"What?!" I looked around for an enemy, attempting to power up my rocket shoes.

"YOU'RE ASTRO!" She boomed, screaming like a five-year-old. "Oh my god!" She popped her gum loudly and blew a bubble with it.

"That's it?" I asked, realizing as I said it my rocket boots hadn't powered themselves on. "That I'm Astro? I thought someone was in trouble!"

"You're Astro!" She was ignoring me.

"C'mon, Keisha," her red-haired friend said, nudging her along.

I shot her a grateful look. She grinned and shook out her long red hair, then they sat down at two side-by-side desks.

"You're so awesome!" Keisha chattered as she sat down and pulled out her textbook. "Aren't you that robot who saved, like, the ENTIRE CITY?" she smacked her gum again.

I felt my face get hot. "I didn't save the entire city, I just…" I swallowed, wondering how to describe what I'd done. Deciding it was best to break up in smaller parts, I said, "Yeah, I am Astro."

She screamed again.

"Sorry about her," the red-haired one said. "I'm Hannah, by the way."

I nodded. "Sure." I threw my doodle paper in the trash can, then hitched my backpack higher up on my shoulder and sat down at one of the back desks.

I began drawing again as the other classmates entered, some trying to find seats, others keeping their head down, not looking at us at all.

Cora entered the room and saw me. She grinned. "Hey, Astro." She took the seat next to me.

I turned my notebook over so she wouldn't see it. "Hey, yourself, Cora."

And the teacher entered and the lesson began.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I know the last chapter was pretty lame. But I like this one a lot better! It really actually STARTS here, the story does, instead of just explaining everything like in the last chapter. I felt I'd better get that out of the way, so people would know everything that was going on in my story. It doesn't actually seem much different from the end, though, so...**

**Anyway, I know it's strange to be updating on Easter.**

**Happy Easter! **


	3. Getting Harder

As I left the school, I felt a tugging on my arm.

Glancing around, I saw no one and nothing.

I felt a harsh yank as I turned back around. Then a very slight shock.

"Ouch!"

"Astro?"

"Yeah?"

It was Cora. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," I said to her. I powered up my rocket shoes, watching the fire light up on the soles but feeling no discomfort at all. I threw myself up in the air and some onlookers cheered.

I crashed back on the ground and found myself laying sprawled there on the ground with a huge mouthful of grass. I was seconds away from throwing up as I tried to steady myself, reaching for the familiar ground to do so.

I powered up my rocket shoes. Or tried to. But they didn't come on.

I fell back to the ground and held my arm gingerly. It had been hurting all day, but now it burned and throbbed a bit.

Not to mention I felt tired.

I went on my way, deciding it was much better to walk, anyway. My house wasn't far and the rocket boots weren't cooperating.

Let's just try walking, I thought.

I cradled my arm a bit, the one with the long scrape from the sidewalk earlier that day.

Sharp pain plagued it and me, and I had to hold it very gently. When Dad got home that night, I grabbed two plates to make the table. Robots don't eat, but Dad does and I sit with him while he will.

The plate tumbled out of my smaller hands and I attempted to catch them.

But I was slower today. Why? I wondered as the plates crashed onto the floor and broke loudly.

I stood there in the mess of shattered china for an instant, then quickly began sweeping it up.

My hand shook as I attempted, so I let the broom fall.

Dad came looking. "Toby? You alright?"

"Fine," I replied, but my arm shook as I reached again for the broomstick.

"Toby, we need to get you to the Ministry of Science."

I swallowed. "Why?" I couldn't help thinking that was where he'd taken the blue core out of me…

I didn't give you guys permission to come in, I snapped harshly at those thoughts. Dad correctly read my half-scared expression. "Because of your wrist. I wanted to fix it up and rearrange the wires the way they were."

"Oh. Ok." I felt dumb for imagining it was anything else.

"Yeah. I didn't feel comfortable leaving your wires hanging out like that after school."

I looked at my arm and admitted, "Well, it does hurt."

"So come on," Dad said. "Let's go. I'll be back."

This last sentence was said to Orrin, who had just waltzed – er, wheeled – in. Dad and I quickly drove to the Ministry of Science and he laid me down on the operating table.

I sat back up and held out my arm. "Do your best, Doctor Tenma."

He smiled and began looking at it. Then he gasped. "Oh my god."

"What's wrong?" My heart skipped a beat or two.

"Toby, it's—it's— My dad hesitated. "You're missing a wire, Toby."

"What?" I frantically inspected my wrist just as carefully as he could. "No, Dad! No, I…I…I had all my wires! I THOUGHT."

"Did you look at your wrist as carefully as you could after you cut it?"

"No. I assumed…"

"It's always wrong to assume. You have to always, always KNOW."

"I know," I said miserably. "I just assumed…"

"I know."

I gulped back more questions. "Never mind, can you fix it?"

"Toby—

"Can you?"

"Not without the wires."

"Oh. Okay." I let my hand drop. "What's going to happen if I don't get the correct wire?"

Dad swallowed. "You get sick."

"Robots don't GET sick."

"Yes, when they're missing a wire or when they're short-circuited."

"Okay." I shrugged. "Is that it, then? They get sick? They feel under the weather?"

"Toby, don't brush this off. We need that copper wire."

"OKAY." I snapped at him. "We get that wire. We put it back, we fix it, correct?"

"Not really," Dad said. "It's way more than that, Toby."

I crawled off the operation table. "And we can't fix it until I have it?"

"Nope."

I nodded. "Okay. Ok."

"I'll get one," he promised me. "I don't care what I have to do, I'm getting one."

"Yeah, okay Dad."

* * *

"Oh, Astro Boy! Where are you hiiiiiding?"

BAM.

It came through my window sill, the giant ship. In an instant, I was on my feet, starting up my rocket boots, but they would not come on.

"C'mon!" I said desperately as the flying saucer came closer. "We can work this out later, we need…"

The green stuff shot out of the flying ship, the green lines.

They trapped me, but I shot out of the way.

"What are you doing? Who are you?" But I had a sinking feeling I knew.

Only one person had owned ships like these. President Stone. Wasn't he behind bars? I asked myself, but that didn't matter, because another green line had shot out at me.

I avoided it and powered up my rocket boots, but they only helped me fall.

"The most powerful machine in the world isn't so powerful anymore," a voice from the ship taunted. "He's just a scared little kid now."

I shoved myself up. "Scared of who? You? Come down here and I'll show you how scared I am!"

My entire body felt drained and exhausted as I dodged shot after shot and eventually it trapped me.

The green lines dragged me up into the ship and President Stone chained me up with a pair of glittering blue handcuffs…the same ones he'd chained on me when he kidnapped me in the Robot Games.

"What do you want?"

"The Blue Core," he replied with a grin. "What else are you good for, robot?"

And as the ship flew away, I could only remember one thing: _I am a prisoner of President Stone._

He was already almost making me regret every second of that battle.


	4. Stronger Than You Know

**A/N: The title of this chapter should be called, 'Random Angst between President Stone and Astro'. LOL.**

**I know not a whole lot of people like this story, but I'm proud of it and the route it's taking. **

**Also, I got my first reviewer! xD I was worried I was gonna have to start PAYING people to review, LOL JK. **

**Sorry. xD Thanks for the review!**

* * *

"I've been waiting," President Stone whispered, leaning down next to me. "I have been biding my time and collecting your weaknesses and I feel your revulsion…I feel you shuddering, shaking…"

I winced away from him. "I will not, will never let you take it out of me easily! You can't have my Blue Core!"

"Relax, Astro," Stone said to me. The name I'd liked so much on the surface repulsed me coming from his mouth.

"I…you…you can't have it!" I declared. "I will fight you."

I stood up and got ready to fight Stone again, but a voice came from the back of the ship. "Calm down, Astro Boy. This will not hurt a bit. Just lay still."

"No!" I hollered, trying to power up my rocket shoes. I felt nothing. Looking down, I saw no fire. What was wrong with me? This isn't the time! I thought impatiently, hoping the shoes would get the message. Nothing happened.

"Ah, yes, the wire." President Stone's voice was callously amused. "I have it, son."

"It wasn't the fall that caused it, you daft boy. It was not accidental." He smiled coldly. President Stone was cold as ice.

"Give it back!" I yelled.

"Oh, yeah, and give you a chance to escape?" he asked. "I think…not dear child."

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" I hollered. "I get it. You despise me, all because of a stupid Blue and Red Core thing. Okay? I get it. You want it. But you can't have it so let me go."

"Ah, that is the REALLY amusing thing, Astro." The peacekeeper informed me. "I need your cooperation very little."

I glared. "You can't get it out of me if you can't catch me!" And I dashed to the window and unlatched it.

"Where will you go?" Stone asked me seriously. "It's not like you can go running back to Daddy in the state you're in, we're above the city already."

"It was all you." I said quietly. "You! You made me lose my power! I…I…I'm not…you're not…I'm not losing my power after all!"

"Yes, dear boy, very clever." President Stone said, sarcastically. "Get back in here, Astro. You won't survive the fall."

"Robots can survive anything." I told him stubbornly.

"Suit yourself," He shrugged.

"I'd rather be dead anyway." I told him. I waited for the catch. Was he just going to let me go?

He took me back, away from the window. "Problem is," he explained patiently, "while I'd love to watch you fall, while I would, in fact, pop popcorn and drink soda and watch, I can't let you. I need the Blue Core. With the Core, I can be as powerful as I was with the Red one!"

"You're mad!" I cried. "Don't you realize what happened last time you came in contact with the Core? We both nearly…" I trailed off, thinking of it.

"Yes, yes, I know." He told me. "But this time, I'm better prepared. I don't have the Red Core in me anymore, don't you see? I need the Blue one. It's the only one we have left. I need it…" But he stopped himself as if realizing saying his plan aloud might give me an idea.

My mind worked furiously. Obviously he wanted the Blue Core to rule again. But how? No one would let him out of the Metro City jail.

No one.

So how had he gotten out?

"President Stone?" I whispered, "How did you get out of prison?"

He snorted. "I had to promise some of the Blue Core to some oaf who calls himself Ha—why?" he squinted suspiciously.

"Who?" I asked urgently.

"Oh, you're not playing me," he announced gloatingly. "I shan't tell you, boy!"

I sat back, defeated. "Okay, fine."

He eyed me suspiciously. "Why did you want to know, brat?"

"I…I…" I shook my head. "Nothing. It's not important." My suspicions about Hamegg were most likely wrong, anyway.

But birds of a feather flock together, I reminded myself.

It could well be right.

I shook my head. "No time to think of Hamegg now."

"What?"

"No." I told him. "It's nothing, Stone."

"Anyway," Stone said malevolently, "I promise to make you beg for mercy by the end of this. What do you say to that?"

"I say you're never getting the core, asshole."  
He smiled. "You will not keep it from me. You can't. You're much weaker than you think, Astro Boy. But you're also stupider than you think. And that might just be your downfall, I warn you."

I glared at him. "I am stronger than you know."

"And weaker than you think."

"But still way stronger than you know, President Stone."

* * *

**A/N: Anyway what do you think? I've tried, really tried to make President Stone threatening but I don't know if I did. Tell me! **

***Hint, hint* There's a review button...right there...no, a little farther...yes...now start typing! Lol. **


	5. Panic

It was three words, three simple words that made Tenma panic.

Orrin came into his room early and said, "Sir? Astro isn't here." His high-pitched voice sounded incredibly scared, but all Tenma cared about was the news the tone brought.

"What?" Tenma asked. "Astro…he's not here?"

"Sir, I've searched everywhere—

"He probably went out for a morning flight," Tenma cut across Orrin's words. "All the same, I really wish he'd warned me first. This kind of behavior worries me. He's been acting depressed all week and I don't understand why."

"Perhaps it's the battle with the peacekeeper that simply wore him down, sir?" Orrin suggested.

"Maybe," Tenma muttered, not really listening.

Now don't panic, he warned himself. Astro will be fine.

He just wished he could believe it.

…

That was a month ago.

Now Astro was still missing and no one had any leads except for one thing: Stone's cell was empty.

"It could have nothing to do with Astro," Orrin said calmly. "It could just be…just be…" Then he sighed. "The man hates him, doesn't he?"

Tenma nodded wordlessly. Luckily, he was very good at not panicking, so he hadn't yet. But no one had heard from Astro or seen him for almost four weeks. And panic was starting to grip Metro City…

* * *

**A/N: I've changed the summary of this story. **

**I'm thinking of editing it because it's a tad...well...:P Angsty. **


	6. I'm Not Scared of You

**A/N: LOL I feel slightly mean to Astro for doing this to him but it's my story :D you enjoy? **

* * *

"I'm not scared of you, Stone," I told him. "If you want my Blue Core, you're gonna have to fight me."

"Fight you?" Stone laughed quietly, and I hated him for the sound. "As I already said, I don't need your cooperation."

"You're such a coward." I told him.

He laughed, sounding almost delighted at my anger. Then he said, "We will see who the real coward is soon enough."

When we actually got to the prison, he shoved me inside the cell and chained me to the wall. "There you go."

He smiled coldly at me then. "Before the night is over, your powers will be a distant memory. I'm going to make you _scream." _

His words held a horrid promise: the pain was going to be bad. But I knew what I had suffered through and I knew what I could take. And I felt pretty sure I could take whatever the hell he threw at me.

* * *

Dad's voice floated over to me. "Astro? Astro, wake up."

"But it's not even time for school yet," I protested groggily.

"Get up, robot."

I opened my eyes and faced President Stone. "You're a coward."

He jerked me forward. "How do you feel, Astro?"

I glanced at him. "Like I could kick your ass from here to Texas."

He ignored me. "Imagine, then, Metro City's despair at their robot being gone!"

"Metro City won't be worried," I told him. "To them, I'm just a machine, anyway."

"Aren't you?" he demanded quietly.

"I'm just like you," I told him. "Well, maybe not. I have a heart, at least."

"You're a machine!" he laughed. "You don't have a heart!"

Then he jerked me forward and undid my handcuffs, dragging me along to another room. I gritted my teeth as he uncurled a long black whip and took off my shirt.

I winced as the whip hit my back the first time, then a second and finally my back was numb from the strokes as he gave me my shirt and whispered, "Until next time…Astro."


	7. I Will Not Beg

**A/N: Yowza! I'm sorry, Astro :P I really want to let you escape, but I'm already working on Chapter Eight, and it isn't ending with you escaping at all. You getting away is really not in the cards...but I THINK you'll survive...maybe... ;-)**

* * *

"How are we feeling, Astro?" asked President Stone, stepping into my cell.

In truth, I was exhausted. My back throbbed from the whipping earlier; had that been last night?

It was hard to tell time here…

All the same, I couldn't let Stone see me like this: broken, nearly begging. "You sick asshole," I whispered.

He drew a knife from his trench coat*****. "Let's see…" He drew it across my fake layer of skin.

In truth, it didn't hurt. That skin was fake. What was he thinking?

He pulled a wire, stretching it, all shiny and coppery. He held the knife under it and cut it cleanly.

Pain exploded inside me and I thought I was going to scream. I clenched my teeth together, the burning becoming bearable. Uncomfortable and painful, yes, but bearable.

"You didn't need that wire, did you, Astro? It didn't hurt, did it, Astro?"

I bit down hard on my lip, willing the one-syllable****** word far away from my tongue. I would not beg. I would let him get on with it. I would not say 'please'. He wouldn't hear me begging.

To anybody who might be listening, I thought to myself, make it stop. Let me die from the missing wire and this newly cut one. Please.

But my misery would end soon. My city's was just beginning.

* * *

***I have no idea why, I just love villains in trench coats. I could easily imagine Stone wearing one.**

****I couldn't remember if 'please was one or two syllables. I was going 'please? 'Pl-ease? Pl-EASE?' **


	8. On The Verge

**A/N: Augh. Parts of this chap feel dramatic and angsty, but you guys asked for more torture and for me to "bring on the pain!" This is my best attempt at that. The "black box" mentioned in this chapter will be expounded upon later and stuff about it will be explained. Ok? i.e. why the heck Stone has it**

* * *

I sat in the cell, my wrist with the missing wires throbbing. Hadn't Stone gotten his revenge? I thought dismally, then immediately felt selfish and guilty.

I leaned back against the wall, wishing for someone – anyone – from Metro City to be with me right now. Not physically with me in the cell, but speaking to me, telling me it was gonna be alright.

How was Metro City faring without me? I was starting to think about Zane, Cora, Dad, Dr. Elefun and the others, but that just made me hurt worse to think of them suffering like I was.

Suddenly, another man entered the room, the metal doors clanging shut behind him. He was holding a knife and a grim smile.

I wondered briefly why they didn't just send robots. I wondered about why I hadn't been concocting a plan of escape, either. Obviously, I knew my powers were failing from the missing and cut wires, but still…

The man grabbed my torn wrist with the missing wires and held the knife close to the skin. "Ready to give us the Core yet like a good little boy, robot?"

"Never," I gasped.

He slowly began cutting beneath the skin, cold metal finding my wires. He carelessly sawed through a copper wire, then a silvery one.

I bit my lip hard to keep from screaming. He wanted to hear me scream. In all those books Toby used to read, the kidnappers always wanted you to scream. So you set your jaw and take whatever the hell they throw at you in perfect silence.

"Oh, c'mon, robot," the man chuckled. "I'm cutting your wires. Fight back!"

But he knew I couldn't do that. I was bound by two crippling things.

I gasped for air. I didn't trust myself to speak. I was afraid a scream or a plea would escape my lips if I opened my mouth too wide.

The wires were still aching like someone was cutting them, even though the knife was nowhere near me.

_Make it stop._

"Why are you doing this?" I demanded weakly. "Stone knows he could take the Core anytime he wanted…why can't he just…" I had to break to cough and my hand moved involuntarily towards my throbbing arm, hoping to keep it still. "Why can't he take it out of me himself? Why did you ask me to hand it to you?"

"President Stone," the man began, but the doors opened again and in walked Stone. "Stone," announced the former president, "is right here."

"You," I whispered, "leave my city alone."

He held up a small black box. "Learn when the time is right for holding your tongue, robot."

"Oh, yeah," I snorted. "What's that gonna do, bruise me?" I taunted. It had nothing on it except a little button, but Stone held it out towards me and pressed the button.

An agony of which I had never known shot through me and I couldn't even hear what Stone was saying over my own screams.

He stopped pressing the button and bent down next to me. "Yes…you might have some bruises, robot."

I shuddered. "I'm…I'm sorry."

"Do I hear the great Astro Boy apologizing? To me, no less? Say it, boy. Say the rest."

I gasped a little. "No…I…I…" I hesitated, knowing the black device in his hands made all the difference. I hadn't even known the true meaning of pain until today.

His fingers drifted dangerously nearer to pressing the button.

"No! Don't!" I cried.

He smiled, lifting an eyebrow. "Do I hear a fair bit of pleading in this mighty robot's voice?"

"Don't press the button," I said, trying very hard not to beg.

He smiled again. "Unfortunately, it's me calling the shots here, robot, and not you."

The man handed him the knife and he held it almost lovingly close to my cheek. Then he slowly sliced open the skin and cut through two wires simultaneously.

It felt unpleasant, but compared to what the box did to me, it was like a butterfly tickling my cheek with its wings.

I sighed in relief when the pain was milder.

He raised an eyebrow at me, suspicious. Then he tucked the knife back inside his coat and said, "How do you feel now?"

"L-like I could still kick your ass," I whispered unsteadily, my hand trembling. I shoved the shaking limb behind my back so Stone couldn't see how shaky I was feeling.

"Cool your jets, robot boy," he said, lifting the black box. A split second, his finger on the button and then he lifted his thumb and the agony was gone, the memory of it strong within my mind. He grinned a bit. "Get it? Cool your jets? Robot boy?"

He led the other man out of the room.

I slowly curled into a ball, hugged my knees up to my chest and tried very hard not to think.


End file.
